ALWAR: Yet another self-styled godman Kaushlendra Prapannacharya alias ‘Falahari Baba,’ accused of raping his disciple, has been sentenced to imprisonment till death by a trial court in
Rajasthan. Additional district judge Rajendra Sharma pronounced the sentence on Wednesday and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the Alwarbased Baba. Earlier, a Jodhpur court had similarly awarded imprisonment till death to self-styled godman Asaram in another rape case.
Falahari Baba has been sentenced to imprisonment till death by a trial court in Rajasthan
Seeking severe punishment for the 58-year-old Falahari Baba, public prosecutor Yogendra Singh Khatana told the court that the accused was a revered saint with a large following in northern states. “The survivor and her family treated the Baba like a god. Violating such a trust with a heinous crime like rape is a strike on people’s faith. Who should people trust?” Singh said, pleading the court to award the harshest sentence to the accused. In his verdict, judge Sharma wrote, “The survivor looked upon the accused as her guru and mentor and used to worship him like her father and god. The accused, despite being seen as a guru, mentor and father, committed a heinous and serious crime, which shows his depraved mentality.” The judge added, “If those in such important positions continue to commit disgusting crimes, people will lose faith in religious gurus. The accused has committed a crime not just against the survivor but also against the entire society. Thus, showing leniency for the serious crime will not be justifiable.”
Verdict a victory of justice, says father of rape survivor
The survivor’s father expressed happiness at the court verdict and called it a victory of justice. The Baba’s lawyer Ashok Sharma said he would appeal against the verdict after getting a copy of the trial court judgment. The 21-yer-old rape survivor from
Chhattisgarh had lodged an FIR against the Falahari Baba at her native place on September 11, 2017.
The Chhattisgarh police transferred the case to
Alwar police after getting the survivor’s medical examination done and her statements recorded before a magistrate under CrPC section 164. The Alwar police arrested the Falahari Baba on September 23 and filed a 40-page charge-sheet against him on December 15, 2017 (within the 90-day provision). The Baba initially tried to avoid arrest and got admitted to a private hospital, citing ill health. The trial in the case began on January 11 this year. During the trial the court was told that the rape survivor was a law student and her parents had sought the Baba’s help to get her an internship in Supreme Court.
The family believed that the Baba was well connected with the legal fraternity. With the Baba’s reference, the girl did internship under a lawyer from
Madhya Pradesh. She then travelled to Alwar to thank the Baba, as advised by her parents. It was here, on August 7, 2017, that Falahari Baba allegedly violated the girl.
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